Cutting-machine.



L. A. CSGRAIN'. GUTTING MACHEN. Ammonium* FILED oomz, 1911.

Patented Mg.- u, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'lillillllllldlll blllidlhitl v l LOUS A. CASGRAIN, OF BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TU U'l''lil @HQE MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PATERSON, NEW TJERSEY, A CGRPOMTEQN @DIF NEW' JERSEY.

CUTTING-MACHINE.

Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented flug, lil., lol...

Application tiled October 1.2, 1911. Serial No. 654,258.

To all fio/mm it may concern:

Be it known that I, Louis A. Ciiscnain, a citizen of the United States, residing at Beverly, in the county of Essex and State of ivlassacliusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Cutting-Machines, of which the ,following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to cutting machines and is herein shown as embodied in alcuttino machine designed especially for use with freely movable dies to cut blanks from sheet material such upper leather for boots and shoes. lt will be understood, however, that many features of the invention are of gen eralfapplicability in the art to which the invention particularly relates.

Only recently have cutting machines come to be used in Vthe upper cutting rooms of shoe factories. Although the cutting machines noiv in general use are for the most part very satisfactory and have substantially revolutionized upper cutting, there are certain conditions both of Work and of factory construction which are not met so satisfactorily when it is attempted to use the m515 chinesin the manufacture of certain types of shoes.

In most shoe factories the upper cutting room is located in the upper part of the factory, and in view of the fact that no heavy machinery has been utilized until recently, little Vprovision has been made in the factory construction for the use of heavy machinery on the upper Hours. lt will be seen, therefore, that it is important in installing upper cutting machines in old factories that provi sion be made against excessive jar in the cut-` ting operation, and against too great m0- mentuni of heavy parts. ln cutting Ilary uppers from light upper material little difficulty has been experienced WithJthe '.up-V per cutting machines in common use, When,

however, dies of large dimensions are used in cutting heavier stock and the length of the stroke of the machine is increased to facilitate its'use with the heavier dies, the jar upon-the floors of some of the older factories isVv quite objectionable, particularly ivlien'a large number of machines are operating in the same room. Moreover the increased momentum requiredforthe heavier vvork results in more rapid wear of the cutting block and necessitates therefore more lrequent resurfacing of the blocks. 't One of the objects of the present inven tion is to provide a machine'ivliich will be of general utility in upper cuttin but which is especially adapted for use tvit the larger and heavier skins and with the larger dies.

'Another object of thev invention is to provide a machine which is so automatic and so positive in its operation that it may be run at a much slower speed than the present commercial machines, thereby reducing` the momentum and the jar of the impact of the operative parts, and yet produce a quantity o' Work equal to, if not exceeding, that produced with the said commercial machines. In the commercial machine most eaten- `sively used for upper cutting the cut-ting operation is performed during a single rotationof the driving shaft and the driving pulley, which is constantly driven 'from a source of power-,is then nnclutched from the driving shaft and a brake is simultaneously applied to the driving shaft to bring it to rest. The most convenient Way to apply this brake is obviously to utilize the momen tuin of the moving parts. This is done in the commercial machine above mentioned, but the very-simple mechanica employed vto utilize this principle ci@ op `ation is so arranged that when the driving pullev is again clutched to the driving shaft the shaft must be turned a short distance with the brake applied before the connection between the brake and the parts whose momentum it utilizes operate to release fthe brali'e.

According to the present invention the objectionable feature of the brake construe tion just described is eliminated by providing for the release of the bralie at the time "when, or just before, the clutching of the drivingr and the driven parts is effected.

Important features of the invention are not only the novel means for eflectin the release of the brake before the driven parte begin to move with the-driving member, but also the novel means for applying' the brake. ln the illustrated construction the brake is normally held stationary in the path of movement of an eccentric by means of an inverted toggle which is broken to release the brake' before the eccentric begins to turn for the next 'operation of the ma chine.

Other important features of the invention are the novel means for effecting the lateral and vertical movements of the presser member and the novel means for preventin the stock from slipping overA the sides o' the cutting block.

Other features and objectsof the invention will be apparent when the following description and claims are read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a cutting machine embodying. the present invention in its preferred form; Fig..2 is a side eletion. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of thelatcral guards for preventing the stock from running over the side o' the block, and Fig. 6 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the means for effecting vertical adjustments of the cutting block.

The machine comprises a frame 2 provided with bearings for a driving shaft 4 upon which is loosely mounted a combined I fly wheel and driving pulley 6 which may be connected to any suitable source of power and which may be clutched at the will of the operator to the shaft 4. The material to be cut is spread-out upon a cutting block 8, of wood-or other suitable material, which is carried upon a table or bed 10 adjustably supported upon the frame 2 by means of screws 12 threaded into the frame '2, there bein a screw'foreach corner of the table 10. gro facilitate adjustment of the table and block, each of the .screws 12 is' provided with a sprocket wheel 14 over which travels a chain 16, driven from a driving sprocket 18. The driving sprocket 18 is itself driven from a worm 2O upon a shaft 22 provided at the front of the machine with a hand wheel 24.

Coperating with the cutting block 8 in the cutting operation isa presser member or platen. 26 arranged to swing bodily into and out of operative position over the block 8 about an axis below ysaid block, the illustrated presser member beingconnccted to a rock-shaft 28 mounted in bearings in vertical plungers 80 guided in guideways 32 in the machine frame. The connections between the presser member or platen 26 and thev rock-shaft 28 comprise at each end of said member a yoke-like casting 34 connected toythe rock-shaft 28 and provided with openings through which pass a short rod 36, extending through the presser member '26 and through the upper arm of said castincassa ing 34, and a long| rod 38 extending through the presser member 26 and through both the upper and lower arms of the casting 34. The rods 36 and 38 are suitably confined at their respective ends in the presser member 26 and in the casting 34 by means of nuts 40 threaded thereon. The presser member 26 is provided with stifening ribs 42.

The rock-shaft 28 is yieldingly pressed toward its uppermost position by springs 44, there being two springs near each end. cf the rock-shaft which support ayoke 46 which carries a bearing for said shaft. The connections between the yoke 4b and the springs 44 comprise rods 48 extending through the yoke and provided with nuts 50 at their lower ends, the rods 48 extending up through thc springs 44 and being provided with nuts 52 at their upper ends'which rest upon washers 54 on the upper ends of the s )rines 44. The s rines 44 rest u on a su port 56 which forms a part of the casting in which the guideway 82 is formed, this casting being bolted to and forming 'a part of the frame 2.-

When the presser member 26 is in operative position over the block 8, as shown in Fig. 4, it is depressed against the tension of the springs 44 into engagement with the die 58 to effect the cutting operation by means of an eccentric or cam 60, rigidly connected to the driving shaft 4 and turning therewith, there being one of these eccentrics 60 at each end of the shaft 4. The eccentric or cam 60 engages an anti-friction roll 62 upon the rock-shaft 28, the roll 62 and eccentric 60 being maintained constantly in engagementwith each other by theaction of the springs 44. The presser member is moved into and out of operative position over the bed automatically, and the'illustrated means for effecting this movement comprises a cam groove 64 in the eccentric disk 60 which operates upon a cam roll 66 carried bv the yoke 84. The cam groove 64 forms a closed cam so that the movement of thepresser member both into and out of op-v chine during the movement of the presserl member into and out of voperative position, the weight of the presser member and its connected parts, when its center of gravity is out of vertical alinement with the axis of. therock-shaft 28, is .either partly or wholly counterbalanced by a spring 68 connected at one end to a bolt 7 0, fastened to the frame 2, and at its other end to an arm 72, fastened to the rock-shaft 28. The amount of counterbalancin'g of the presser member and its connected parts may be varied by varying the tension of the spring- 68 and by changing the angular position of the arm 7 2 upon the rock-shaft 28.

To insure parallelism of the presser memloops bei" and the bed during the cuttingl opera.- tion, that is to insure a movement oit' the presser member in a right line during; the pressing movement, means is provided i'or :preventing lateral movement of the presser member duringl its vertical movement. 'The illustrated means comprises a guide 7s bolted upon each end of the 'trame 2 and ar ranged to enter a guideway 76 in a part S0 carried upon each end of the presser mein ber.

The machine herein shown is especially adapted for use in cutting the larger sizes of skins, the cuttingr bloclr being preferably of considerable length, a suitable length for general use being about e8 inches. 'lo sup-- n port the part of the skin which projects y 0H' during the pressing operation. To prelio vent this a guardplate 84e is provided which is carried Jupon' a slide 8G arranged to slide upon the guide 711, the slide 86 being confined upon saitl guide by screws 88 and 90 which pass through a slot 92 in said slide and guide itin a vertical direction. The slide is normally maintained at the upper limit of its movement, with as much of the guard 84 exposed above the surface of the bed as possible, by means of a spring 94e connected at one end to a pin 90 upon the slide and at its other end to a piu 9S upon the guide 74. During' the pressing operan tion the guide 84m/ill be engaged by the presser member andmoved down against the tension of lthe spring 94,. As the` presser member again moves up, the guard will ich low it and Will thus prevent the stock 'from slipping over the upper end ot the guide. 7e,

The machine is arranged to perform a single operation and then automatically come to rest. To this end it is provided with a non-repeating clutch. The clutch itself is of the general type shown in United States Letters Patent to Arthur Bates, No.

1,011,903, granted Dec. 19, 1911, and comprises an eicpandinp,a ring, not herein shown, controlled by a spring-pressed bolt or plunger 100 in substantiallf,v the same manner as the clutch of the application above referred to, this bolt beingl held out o't its clutch operating position b v means ot' a wedge 102 carried upon a clutch controlling lever 104 i y pressed normally toward clutch releasingr position by a springf 100 connected to the lower arm of saidlever. The lever 10lA is pivoted at 108 upon lthe machine frame und is moved into clutch actuating position by connections with. tivo hand levers 110 and 112 pivoted upon the front of the machine frame, the connections being such that it is necessary for the operator to use both hands to start the machine,

Fivoted upon the pivot 108 is a second lever 115s connected at one end by a link 116 to one arm 11,8 ot a belLcranlr lever fulcrun'led upon a bracket 1,20 upon the side of the machine :ti-ame. The other arm 122 of the bell-craul lever carries an. equalarmed lever 124 of the first-class, one arm oi the equal-armed lever 124i being; connected br a link 120 to the hand lever .110.and the other arm being connected by a link 1528 to the hand lever 112. At its other end the lever 114 carries a latch 130 provided With a catch plate 132 which hooks over a second catch plate lb-lL upon the lever 104. The

.two catch plates are held normally in engag'ement With each other by means of a springlti.

it vcill be noted that the hand lever 11.0 is a lever of the secondclass and that the hand .lever 112 is a lever of the first-class and that, therefore, when the handles of the tivo levers are grasped by the two hands of the operator and moved toward each other they will operate together to Yrock the bellrank lever :in a counter-clockwise direction about its tulcrum and thus litt up the outer end of the lever lill and depress the inner end oiE said lever, thereby exerting a down- Ward pull on the latch 130 and rockingl the lever 10i about its fulcrum 108 against the tension ot' the spring 100. This operation serves to move the wedge 102 out of engage ment with the holt or plunger 100 andthus permits the said plunger 'toset the clutch to clutch the fly wheel G to the driving shaft Ai.

llfhen the machine has been, started and thepresser member has been brought into operative position over the bedand begins to move toward, the hed to eiiect the cutting operation? the end oi' the rock-shaft 28 will engage the tail 1.138 ol' the latch 130 and will move the catch plate 132 out of engagement with the catch plate 134;, Lhue permitting the spring; l00 acting;- upon the wedge carrying lever 10- to more the Wedge 102 bach' into clutch releasing position to stop the machine at the end ot one rotation of the driving shaft 4t. To prevent overthrow of the parts 'when the tlv Wheel 6 has been unclutched tiroir; the driving shaft 4, means is provided lor bringing the driving shaft to rest. The illustrated means comprises a brake lever 140 tulcrumed at lll-2 upon the machine trame and 'provided with a friction shoe 144- which is arranged to engage the periphery of the eccentric 00 at substantially the point ot its greatest eccentricity. The brake shoe 'lill is normally held in such position that it will engage the eccentric disk 00 at its point 'tre of greatest eccentricity when this disk has turned to bring the said point beneath the said shoe. The means for holding the shoe in this position comprises an inverted toggle which is arranged to be broken at the time when or just before the ily wheel G is clutched to the shaft 4. One member of the inverted toggle consists of a rod 146 slidably mounted in a pivoted block at the end of the lever 140 and pressed normally toward its lowermost position by a spring 148 confined between the said block and a collar 150 on the said rod. At its lower end the rod 146 carries a yoke-like casting 152 which normally embraces the pivot 154 of the other toggle member 156, which is pivotally connected with the said casting 152 and 158.

The toggle member 156 is proyided with a weight 160 so arranged that it tends to move the toggle toward straightened position.

The said member" 156 is also.provided with a projection 162 so arranged that it. is struck by an arm 164 carried by the lever 104 when this lever is moved in the direction to carry the wedge 102 out of clutch releasing relation to the plunger 100. The toggle is thus broken as the clutch is permitted to act andl the breaking of the toggle relieves the pressure of the brake shoe 144 upon the eccentric disk 60. When the fly wheel 6 is clutched to the shaft 4 there is, therefore,

' no resistance to the turning of the shaft.

The block 8 may be confined upon the table 10 in any suitable manner, .as for eX- ample, by clamp hooks 166 having threaded ends which extend through openings in lugs 168 upon the table 10, these hooks engaging the binding irons 170 of the block and being drawn down to hold the block tightly upon the table by means of nuts 172 screwed upon their threaded ends.

Having described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent of the United States is 1. In a machine of the class described,.a

bed, a presser member arranged to swing into and out of parallelism to said bed about an axis below the bed, sind presser member being movable toward and away from thev bed, when in operative position, to effect a pressing operation, and counterbalancino' means arranged to counterbalance said presser member both during its pressing movements and during its swinging movements.

2. In a machine of the class described, a bed, a presser member arranged to swing into and out of operative position over the bed about an axis below the bed, automatic means for moving said presser member positively in both directions, and means for imparting to said presser member a normal tendency to move into operative position over the bed.

3. .Ima machine of the class described, a

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bed, a presser'member, lateral supports; for said presser member pivoted below the bed, spring supported bearings for said pivots, means for automatically and positively swinging said presser member about its pivots into and out of operative position over the bed, and means for automatically depressing said pivotal bearings against the tension of the supporting springs when the presser member is in operative position over the bed.

4. In a machine of the class described, a bed, a presser member arranged to swing into and out of operative position over sai bed about an axis below the bed, means for elfecting positively the said swinging movements of the presser member, v'means for effectinga relative pressing movement of the presser member and bed when the presser member is in operative position, yielding means arranged to resist the operation of said last-mentioned means, and other yielding means arranged to resist the movement of the presser member out of operative position.

5. In a machine of the class described, 'a bed, a platen, lateral supports for said platen, a rock-shaft arranged below the bed and connecting said lateral supports, bearH ings in which said rock-shaft is journaled, means for yieldingly supporting said bearings arranged t o permit vertical movement` thereof, means for guiding said'bearings to insure a right line movement, means for automatically and positively swinging said platen and its supports about the axis o'f said shaft to bring said platen into and out ofA parallelism to the bed, and means for yieldingly resisting turning movement of said rock-shaft when the platen is moved out of parallelism to the bed.

6. In a machine of the class described, a bed, a presser member arranged to swing into andout of parallelism to said bed about an axis below the bed, a driving shaft, an

bed, a presser member arranged to be swungV 125,

into and out of arallelism to said bed about an axis below t e bed, means for yieldingly supporting said presser member,r an eccentric for depressing said presser member against its yielding support whensaid memi oo,

ing operation is completed.

9. In a machine of the class described, al

I isiireieiative relation to the bed, and l a brake cooperating with said eccentric to check" the movement thereof when the presser member is out of operative relation to the bed. l. p

A 8. In a machine of the class described, a beda presser. member movable into and out of operative position over said bed, means for yieldingly'supporting said presser member, an eccentric for de ressing said presser member against its yiel ing support to effect a pressing operation when sald member is 4in operatlve position over the bed and a brake cooperating with said eccentric to check the movement thereof 'when the pressbed, a presser member movable into and out of operative position over a die placed upon said bed, means for yieldingly supporting said presser member, an eccentric for depressing said presser member against its yielding support when said member. is' in operative position over the die, a brake cooperating with said veccentric to check the movement thereof after the die engaging operation of the presser member, and a toggle for holding said brake in the path of said eccentric arranged vto be broken before said eccentric begins to turn to effect the movements of said presser member.

10.In a machine of the class described, a

' bed, a presser member arranged to be swung .into and out of lparallelism to said bed about an axis below t e bed, means for yieldingly supporting said presser member, an eccen- ,trlc for depressing said presser member against its ylelding sup ort when said mem: ber 1s in operatlve re ation to the bed, a

vbrake coperating with said eccentric to 'check the movement thereof when the presser member 1s out of operative relation to the bed, a toggle arranged when in straightened position to hold said brake in the path of said eccentric and to be broken before said eccentric turns to effect the movel ments of the presser -member,4 automatic means for effecting the straightening of said' toggle and manually controlledmeans for eecting the breaking of said toggle.

l1. In a machine of the class descrlbed, a bed, a presser member arranged to be swung into and out of arallelism to said bed about an axis below t e bed, means for automatil callv effecting the swinging movements of said presser member, means for yieldingly supporting said presser member, an eccentric for depressing said presser member against its yielding support when said member is in operative relation to thevbed, a brake cooperating with said eccentric to check the movement thereof when the presser member is out of operativey relation to the bed, a toggle operating when straightened to hold said brake in the path of movement of said eccentric and manually controlled means for actuating said swinging means and said eccentric constructed to break said'toggle before said eccentric begins to turn.

12. In a machine of the class described, a bed, a presser member arranged to vswing into and out of operative position over the bed about an axis below the lbed and lateral guards for the bed located 'beneath the presser member and arranged to yield when engaged thereby.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS A. CASGRAIN. 

